More than Just a Dishwasher Story

Farewell, Frigidaire. You lived with us for a brief year and a half. We appreciate your hard work, but now it is time to send you away to become something new in the form of scrap metal.
You have left us with a HUGE HOLE in our hearts and in our kitchen:

(ew, look at that 1988 original kitchen floor linoleum in there - ick...although my "new" 2004 linoleum isn't exactly my IDEAL floor either...but I'm satisfied. For now!). :)

Hello, new Kenmore dishwasher. You kind of look like my old Frigidaire - and in fact, for the same amount of money, you actually have LESS features but hopefully BETTER quality...however, after weeks of hand-washing dishes, I'm NOT complaining. You are all I need.

Welcome, Kenmore dishwasher. You have surely filled an empty place. :)

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Today is my "day off", and once again, I'm just thankful to be HOME. I'm not really "Spring Cleaning" today or doing much else except enjoying the subtle noise of my new dishwasher, doing laundry, and typing some notes (8 hand-written pages worth!) for my Pastor. I am thankful he lets me work from home some days - and I love being able to focus on what I'm typing and researching some of the words that need to be spelled just right: Septuagent?! Nope, Septuagint, in case you're wondering!! This is as close as I'll ever come to freelance copy editing, so I'm enjoying it. I just love words! That's why I love blogs!

Sometimes I think blogging and spending my time reading blogs might be a waste of time...but today as I again got caught up in other women's stories - and followed links from one blog to another, I am amazed at what some people do or what some go through! One blog I read was from a wife and mother who lives in Indonesia, and her husband is a missionary pilot! What an exciting life!! Other blogs are about women who have gone through horrendous situations: one lady had a baby born with a heart defect that survived a heart transplant at just WEEKS OLD! Now, this sweet mother has been diagnosed with a brain tumor! How much can one family take?! Apparently, as much as God gives them grace for.

One quote from CS Lewis that rings so true is, "God whispers in our pleasure, but shouts in our pain." Being a Christian doesn't spare us pain, it just gives up resources to endure the suffering with God's help and strength - not our own because we become so weak sometimes. It has been said that those who understand God the best have been hurt the deepest. It has been my conclusion that suffering is a tool God sometimes uses to see what we're made of, to test our motives, and to bring out our true selves. I know I have been SHOCKED by what is in me - ugly, bitter, angry feelings sometimes, a total lack of faith, and a refusal to accept God's will - that has come out when I've been put under pressure or into hard circumstances.

I am thankful God is longsuffering, though He must let us face our consequences sometimes. Reading some Christian women's blogs has exposed me to so many amazing women who are trying to do the same thing I am - serve the Lord with joy - though in their own unique ways. I am inspired to do more for my family (cook, clean, and nurture), love my husband better, and serve others more willingly. It has made me thankful for what I have - a home, a family, a church, health - and made me less afraid of things that scare me like cancer, a child dying, or letting go of yet another thing I hold dear. God gives enough grace at the right time to face anything. It is amazing to think He is right now giving me what I need for this moment, this phase of my life. Even little things like dishwashers...